Street-gutter-cleaning machine.



No. 647,395. Patented Apr. l0, I900.

R. W. F URNAS.

STREET GUTTER CLEANING MACHINE.

(Applicafinn filed Nov. 10, 189 7.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet l.

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no. 647,395. Pat ented Apr. [0, 1900.

N R. w. FURNAS.

STREET GUTTER CLEANING MACHINE.

(Application filed Nov. 10, 1897.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFIC ROBERT W. FURNAS, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

STREET-GUTTER-CLEANING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters latent No. 647,395, dated April10, 1900.

Application filed November 10, 1897. Serial No. 658,000. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT W. FURNAS, of

. Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Street-Gutter-OleaningMachine; and I do hereby declare that the following is'a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

The object to be accomplished by this machine is cleaning the gutter ofa street by sweeping the dirt out of the gutter to a position far enoughaway from the ourbstone to permit the ordinary street-cleaning machinesto take it up. The ordinary street-cleaning machines cannot remove thedirt close to the curbstone or clean the gutter. Such machines, however,can take up the dirt when it is removed a foot or sofrom the curb. Inaccomplishing this object I employ a horizontally-rotatable brush whosefibers extend downward from the brush-head. IVhile in operation it iskept in contact with the streetsurface by gravity. It is kept fromcontact with the curbstone by a fender, preferably ahorizontally-mounted caster-wheel connected with the bar in which thebrush is mounted. The brush is mounted by means of a vertical spindle inone end of a bar that is connected at its other end to the carriage bymeans of a universal joint of some kind, whereby the free end may havevertical and horizontal movement. the bar is counterbalanced by acounterbalancing-weight. I provide a vehicle whose front portion,including both the. runninggears and the frame, is considerablywiderthan the rear portion, so that one half of the front portion'projectslaterally from the rest of the frame and carriage. To this lateralextension the bar in which the brush is mounted is pivoted, and in thisextension suitable chain-wheels are mounted, about which a chain passesfrom a drive-wheel at the rear of the machine to the brush, so that thebrush can be elevated or lowered without disturbing its drivingmechanism. A tightener is provided for the chain.

lowers the brush:

The weight of the free end of Means for elevating and In the drawings,Figure l is a perspective of the machine with the brush in position foroperation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine with' the brushelevated. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectionof the hub and axle of the drivemechanism, showing the means for throwing the machine in and out ofgear. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the brush and attached parts,showing the relation to the street and curb.

The details of construction of my machine maybe such as herein shown anddescribed, and this is the form in which I have found it preferable'toconstruct it: Itake a vehicle comprising front and rear runningr ears,the rear running-gears being about one half as wide as the front gears.On this a frame 1 of similar shape is mounted-that is, the front portionof the frame is about twiceas wide as the remaining portion, so thatIhave at the front part'of the frame a lateral extension of considerablelength. One of the rear wheels is constructed so as to be in linewithone of the front wheels, but the other rear wheel 2 is 1ocated to runabout midway between the tracks of the two front wheels. To the lateralexten sion of the frame I attach a bar or beam 3 by some kind ofuniversal joint at, that permits the free end of the bar or beam to movehorizontally,vertically, or obliquely and also have a slight rotary ortwisting movement. I here show the bar 3 hinged to a block 37, that ispivoted in a bracket 38, connected with the frame-piece by a bolt 39, soheld by a checknut 40 as to be rotatable. The bar extends fromitsconnection with the frame to the rear beside the rear wheels. In itsrear end a vertical shaft or spindle 5 is so mounted as to be rotatable.To the lower end of said spindle the brush 6 is secured in a horizontalposition, so that the rotation of the spindle will cause the brush torotate horizontally. The brush consists of a head formed, preferably,like a disk placed horizontally and with the brush fibers extendingdownward therefrom. To the upper end of the spindle 5 I secure achain-wheel 7 in ahorizontal position, whereby the brush can be rotated.The brush is driven by a chain 8, that passes about the chainwheel 7 andthe chain-pulleys 9, 10, and 11 and a fourth pulley beneath pulley 11,all on the extension of the front of the framework to which the bar orbeam 3 is pivoted. The chain is driven by the chain- Wheel 12, that isconnected with the hub of the rear wheel 2, as will hereinafter beexplained. In operation the parts of the chain move in the directionindicated by the arrows, which causes the brush to rotate in thedirection indicated by the arrow, whereby the dirt is swept away fromthe curbstone and out of the gutter into the street, where it will beaccessible to the ordinary street-cleaning machines. By extending thedrive-chain 8 from the framework to which the beam 3 is pivoted thebrush can be elevated or lowered without interference with its drivemechan-' ism because of the long distance between the brush and theextension of the framework. Furthermore, by extending the chain from thepivotal point of the beam 3 in which the brush is mounted the chain willremain parallel, substantially, with said beam wherever its free end maybe held, whether itbe long or short. A chain-tightener 13 is adjustablysecured by bolts to the bar or beam 3, as shown. It consists of abracket with a wheel secured to its lower end.

It is observed that in operation the brush 6 rests upon and is directlyover the surface of the gutter, being held to the street-surface bygravity; but to counterbalance the weight of the beam 3 and prevent theweight of the brush mechanism being so great as to break down and mashthe fibers of the brush I provide a counterbalancing-weight 14, that isconnected by the chain 15, extending over the pulleys 16 and 17 to thebracket 18, that is secured to the rear end of the beam or bar 3. Theweight let can be altered to bring about the downward pressure of thebrush on the street-surface that may be desired.

The brush is elevated by the hand-lever 19, pivoted in the frameworkopposite the rackbar 20. A chain 21 extends from said lever above itspivotal point through a block and tackle 22, secured to the framework atthe rear to the bracket 18. It is seen that when the upper end of saidlever 19 is pulled forward said brush will be elevated, and in suchelevation of the brush the weight 14 cooperates with the hand-lever.

.The mechanism that drives the brush is thrown in and out of gear asfollows, although any other clutch mechanism now employed in variousmachines could also be here employed to accomplish this purpose: In Fig.3, 23 is the rear axle of the vehicle, and 24 is the hub of the rearwheel 2, provided at its inner end with an upturned annular flange 25. Astationary collar 26 is secured to the axle, provided with a nut 27,which when in place engages the flange 25 and prevents the lateralmovement of the hub of the rear wheel. The rear wheel 2 of the vehicleis mounted on the sleeve 28, whose outer end is enlarged and tapered,and the hub of the wheel is clamped tight to such sleeve by a nut on theinner end of the sleeve. Between the outer end of such part and the hub24 an annular recess is formed, in which is mounted aninwardly-extending annular flange 29 from the hub 30 of the chain-wheel12. Between the interior surface of said hub 30 and the,

tapered end of the journal 28 a friction-collar 31 operates, which isscrewed upon the threaded end of the axle 23. When said friction-collar31 is rotated somewhat by reason of its threaded connection with theaxle, it is forced inward and wedges between the hub of thechain-wheel12 and the bearing 28, thus causing said chain-wheel torotate with said bearing 28 and the rear wheel 2. When thefriction-collar 31 is rotated somewhat in the opposite direction, it iswithdrawn from its engagement with the tapered end of the bearing 28, sothat the wheel 12- will not turn. The rotation of said friction-collar31 is caused by the bar 32, secured to said collar, and the chains 33and 34, which extend from the ends of said bar 32 to the hand-lever 19at a point above and a point below its pivotal point. Therefore when thehand-lever 19 is thrown forward the drive mechanism of the brush isthrown out of gear, and when itis drawn backward the drive mechanism isthrown in gear. By reason of the connection of the elevating mechanismand the drive mechanism with the hand-lever 19, as has been described,the forward movement of said hand-lever will simultaneously elevate thebrush and throw the drive mechanism out of gear, and when it is drawnrearward it will simultaneously let the brush down to the street-surfaceand throw the drive mechanism in gear. By means of the rack 20 thehand-lever 19 can be locked in its two positions.

Inasmuch as the front of the brush 6 rotates away from the curbstone asthe vehicle moves, it should not engage the curbstone, and to preventthis engagement I place a fender on the bar 3, consisting of the bracketor bar 36, having secured to it a horizontallyoperating caster-wheel 35.This fender should extend laterally only far enough to merely preventcontact of the body of the brush, it being desirable that the fibers ofthe brush be permitted to engage the curbstone, but not the body of thebrush.

One of the important features of myinvention so far as the efiect ofoperation. of the brush is concerned is that the bracket 18 orattachment of the counterbalancing-weight is on the side of the centerof the brush next to the machine, so that the constant lift of theWeight while the brush is in operation will slightly tilt the brushtoward the curbstone and will cause it to press heavier on the portionof the gutter next to the curb. This is a valuable feature because ofthe large de- It is observed that by reason of the universal jointconnecting the bar 3 to the frame the brush will not only be movablevertically,

horizontally, and obliquely, but it will have a rocking movement also,whereby it will accommodate itself to the varying surface of the streetand gutter.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A street-gut-ter-cleaning machine including a vehicle, a lateralextension from the front portion of the frame thereof, arearwardly-extending bar pivoted to such extension and a horizontallyrotatable brush mounted in the rear end of said bar. a

2. A street-gutter-cleaning machine including a vehicle, a vehicle whoseframe and running-gears at the front end extend laterally beyond therear portion of the frame and the rear running-gears, arearwardly-extending bar pivoted to such lateral extension, and ahorizontally-rotatable brush mounted in the rear end of said bar.

A strect-cleaning machine including a brush mounted at the other end, adrivewheel connected with one of the rear wheels of the machine, a chainextending from said drive-wheel to the brush for rotating it, ahand-lever pivoted to the framework of the machine, a clutch mechanismconnected with said hand-lever for throwing the drive-wheel in and outof gear, and means connected with said hand-lever for elevating thebrush so arranged that when the hand-lever is operated in one directionit will lower the brush and throw the drive mechanism in gear and whenoperated in the opposite direction it will elevate the brush and throwthe drive mechanism out of gear simultaneously.

- In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day ofOctober, 1897.

ROBERT V. FURNAS.

Witnesses:

V. H. LOOKWOOD, ZULA GREEN.

